Last Chance
by Lokelani
Summary: Hermione’s last goodbye is saved for someone special.Started before HPB came out.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing! Maybe part of the plot but it's probably  
been done before!  
  
Summary: Hermione's last good-bye is saved for someone special.  
  
Last Chance  
  
Prologue [March 5th, 7th year, Hogwarts]  
  
She sped blindly down the hallway, her vision blurring and legs wobbling, threatening to give way and pitch her towards the cold stone floor beneath. She had to find him, she had to tell him before...  
  
She lessened her pace slightly as another wave of dizziness over took her, she couldn't stop now. Pain shot through her chest, she clutched at the faded hospital shirt, knuckles white from the death grip.  
  
The pain returned to its dull throb, she started to run again, oblivious to the voices and motions of the people around her. She could distantly hear fellow students calling her name. She would stop for no one, she would find him. If she could escape Ms. Poppy, and her two best friends, who loomed over her constantly, then no one short of the Dark Lord himself could stop her.  
  
She slowed again as she approached the dungeon's steps, gingerly picking her way down them, hoping she had enough time, praying he was there. Past the steps, fleeting towards the Slytherin common room, she'd only been there once with Prefect duties, but the place stuck in her mind. Rounding the last corner, she stopped short at the sight of two blond headed students. Him! Of all the days for him to be with her, damn Pansy. They stood a couple feet away, snogging in front of the grizzly portrait that led to their common room.  
  
She could feel herself slipping for consciousness, she needed to tell him, his "girlfriend" be damned. But too late, another shot of pain, she collapsed heavily on the floor. Bringing the kissing pair out of their embrace by the sudden sound.  
  
She could hear their footsteps coming towards her.  
  
"Ganger, Granger?!?" said an urgent voice, his, she smiled inwardly.  
  
"What's the deal, leave the damn Mudblood," a female voice, Pansy, said in disgust.  
  
She could feel strong arms lifting her from the ground.  
  
"Pansy, I think she's really hurt, go find a teacher," he said even more urgently.  
  
"But..." Pansy never got her protests out.  
  
"NOW", he roared.  
  
She heard Pansy's footsteps racing away, towards Snape's office. And felt a slight swaying motion. He must of picked her up, if it wasn't for the pain and death part it would be almost romantic...almost.  
  
"Granger," she heard his voice again.  
  
Yes, she thought, but the pain was too much, she couldn't reply, it was too late, it was a mistake to come here, at least she'd said goodbye to Harry and Ron.  
  
"Hermione," his voice called again, it seemed almost fearful. He cares! She actually smiled at this thought.  
  
She forced herself to over come the pain, it wasn't too late, she worked to open her eyes and looked up into his face. He turned his face to hers and she drowned in his bottomless grey eyes, and found that instead of the cruel iciness she'd come to expect in them, there was warmth and concern!?! She wanted to stay looking into those eyes forever, all the things she'd wanted to tell him, all the speeches she'd planned, gone. Instead she smiled slightly and said one word.  
  
"Draco," her voiced whispered lovingly, horse from days of crying and endless amounts of potions. Her eyes said the rest. She saw tears forming in his eyes, he understood and he felt the same.  
  
It was done. Her eyelids became heavy, and darkness surrounded her, but she wasn't afraid anymore, as her body and mind dimmed. She felt wetness on her face...tears...not hers, his.  
  
Bye my love, she thought and went limp in his arms.  
  
A/N: OK so that was my first fic, not that good but that's okay. So tell me what you think! Should I leave it as it is or continue? And if I should continue, should Hermione live or die? Hope you enjoyed and please review! Thankz! 


	2. What?

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing! Maybe part of the plot but it's definitely been done before, so I digress. Summary: Hermione's last good-bye is saved for someone special.  
  
A/N: Hey! I finally updated, sorry it took so long! My computer died and then I couldn't think of where to go with this. I'm going to go back and forth between the present and past (being the summer of their 6th year at Hogwarts). This chapter's short but next will be longer, please enjoy...  
  
Chapter 1: What?  
  
Hermione floated in nothingness. It was like being underwater but there were no feelings, no coldness, and no dampness, just her thoughts. 'I must be dead,' she thought. She'd been preparing for this day even since you found out about her condition but now that it had come she didn't want to leave. She still needed to help Ron with his homework, she still wanted to help Harry destroy Voldemort and she still had to teach Draco how to love.  
  
She remembered the day she found out about her sickness. It was just after 6th year, she'd come home for the summer but was plagued by headaches and several blackouts. Her family doctor found nothing wrong, so she ignored them, until she started having weird magical surges and dots in front of her eyes. Her parents took her to a clinic on Diagon Alley. Where they finally figured out what was wrong...  
  
"What?" Hermione jumped at the sound of her father's voice. She turned and wrapped her arms around him for comfort. They had been staring at a magical display of Hermione's brain.  
  
Her mother's eyes misted, "What....exactly is happening to her?"  
  
The Mediwitch sighed, "It would seem Hermione has a serious virus, called Mugizidicopia."  
  
The parents stared at her blankly. Hermione's eyes went wide, she knew something was wrong when she started to have blackouts and strange magic surges, but never this.  
  
Hermione's father's face darkened, " What kind of magic...thing is THIS?"  
  
The Mediwitch struggled for a way to explain in "muggle terms".  
  
Hermione had read about the virus and gathered the courage to speak, "It's a rare kind of virus...that attacks muggle-borns, like me,...it's like a tumor in the brain...except more serious." Her voice wavered and cracked.  
  
Her mother pulled her closer and tears formed at the edge of her eyes.  
  
The mediwitch took over, "For most muggle-borns there's no problem, but with certain blood types, combined with certain genes and magical ability, can create tumors in the brain. When Hermione hit puberty and started using a larger portion of her brain to do magic the bad cells started to multiply to the point where they disrupted the normal functions of the brain. It only seems to occur in muggle-borns who were not born into magic and have damaged cells that grow faster upon the use of magic."  
  
Hermione's father stood up and started to pace the room, "How did this go unnoticed?"  
  
"Well, Hermione was away at school and usually we don't check for these kind of things at a regular check-ups, plus most muggle machinery can't pick it up. We only noticed that there must be something wrong because Hermione was having eye trouble connected to problems with the optic nerve in her brain. Brains have no pain receptors so there seemed to be no problem until the "tumor" grew on her optic nerve. When you told me of her symptoms I decided a brain scan was in order," the mediwitch continued in a professional tone.  
  
Hermione searched her memory again for something, some piece of information that could help her, from all the books she'd read on muggle- borns and wizards. She knew surgery wouldn't work, the Mediwitch had shown them the scan and the tumor had branched out, it could not be removed without damaging her nervous system or leaving her brain dead. She searched her mind for successful recoveries she'd read about, nothing came to mind.  
  
Hermione's mother finally asked the feared question, "What can we do to fix it?"  
  
Hermione saw the mediwitch hesitate. Hermione understood, she turned away from her parents and looked at the floor, " Nothing, mommy." Tears traced their way down her face, "I'm going to die."  
  
A/N: THANKS FOR READING! And thank you for all my reviews! Sorry there was no Draco in this chapter but there will be in next! I'd also like to point out I do no biology, so if my explanation seems weird don't mind it, it's a made up disease! Please tell me what you think. Next chapter Draco carrying Hermione to the hospital wing! -Sapphire 


	3. Weakness

Disclaimer: Yep...the usual...I don't own anything! I would love to own Draco but if I can't so I'll let Hermione have him in my stories that are based on the characters of JK Rowling.  
  
A/N: Hey all...sorry this took so long, I had this written AGES ago but I didn't have it edited and then I had some crazy tests and stuff...so sorry...but I finally did!  
  
Thank you to all my reviewers and a lot of you have asked if Hermione will live or not...you'll just have to wait cackles, yes I am evil...but I can't very well tell you the ending so please keep reading.  
  
Chapter 2: Weakness  
  
[ March 5th , 7th year, Hogwarts]  
  
"Hermione, HERMIONE," Draco called desperately to the girl in his arms, she didn't respond. Tears now flowed freely, he paid little attention to them. He gathered her closer in his arms and walked faster, he didn't know what was wrong with her but he would make sure he did everything he could. Several students looked in disbelief, the Prince of Slytherin was carrying the brainiac mudblood in his arms, and several noticed his tears.  
  
Pansy came towards him with Professor Snape.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?" Snape demanded as he approached.  
  
Draco stopped in front of him and tried to speak, "She...sniff...and...she..." he choked and couldn't speak anymore.  
  
Proff. Snape looked towards Hermione in Draco's arms, his face softened slightly (A/N : NOT much mind you), "Here, Mr. Malfoy." He motioned and held out his arms to take Hermione but Draco refused to let her go, "Fine, follow me then." He made his way quickly to the hospital wing.  
  
Snape was much more effective at clearing a path then Draco and they soon left a confused Pansy far behind.  
  
Snape burst through the hospital wing doors, "Poppy." He yelled.  
  
A very angry looking mediwitch came out from behind one of the screens, "SEVERUS, this is a hospital wing, I will not have..." She cut off by Snape.  
  
"It's Ms. Granger." He said coolly, Ms. Pomfrey turned to Draco and she rushed towards them.  
  
"Oh good you found her," she shook her head, "Over here, dear, lay her down on the bed, poor girl"  
  
Draco followed her orders, he placed Hermione gently on the bed, and brushed the hair from her face, she was so pale. He put her under the covers and Ms. Pomfrey pulled the curtains closed around the bed. He only then realized he'd been crying and wiped his face, he still had his damn pride. He grabbed a tissue from the side table and noticed something odd. There were Hermione's things on the table, she'd been staying in the hospital but...  
  
He didn't finish his train of thought, because two very angry Griffindors came out from Ms. Pomfrey's office.  
  
"Did Harry find her???" Ron demanded, he and Ginny made there way towards Snape, they couldn't see Draco behind the curtain around Hermione's bed.  
  
"She's here." Snape said curtly. Ginny sighed in relief.  
  
Snape turned to Poppy who was gathering some potions from her cabinet.  
  
"Do you need some more potions?" He asked.  
  
"Yes, yes, and hurry up Severus." Ms. Pomfrey said dismissively  
  
Snape sneered at her back but walked out the hospital doors to retrieve some potions from his rooms.  
  
Ron drew back the curtains, he and Ginny jumped back in surprise seeing Draco standing over Hermione.  
  
Ron recovered first and flung himself at Draco, "GET AWAY FROM HER!!" he yelled.  
  
Ginny rushed to try and hold him back causing her, Draco and Ron to go flying to the ground in a heap. Ron sat up and wailed on a surprised looking Draco.  
  
Harry came into the wing, " Ron?? Gin?? I can't find..." He saw them all on the ground, "Malfoy." He hissed when he caught sight of Hermione lying unconscious, he jumped to conclusions and aided Ron's attempts to attack Draco.  
  
Ginny untangled herself and went to get Ms. Pomfrey.  
  
Ms. Pomfrey gasped at the sight of them, "THAT IS ENOUGH." She yelled, but the boys ignored her.  
  
The doors of the hospital wing opened yet again to show Snape, this time with an arm load of potions, Ms. Pomfrey turned to him, "Severus, put those down and help me with this hooligans."  
  
Snape grabbed Ron and Harry off Draco. Ms. Pomfrey shooed them out and turned to take care of Hermione, "Severus I trust you to deal with this." She closed the curtains.  
  
Snape fixed all three boys with a glare. Draco had a black eye, bruised cheek and was bleeding from a cut over his eye. He was by far the worse, Ron's lip was bleeding and Harry's robe was slightly torn.  
  
"I wouldn't even expect this kind of behavior from you, even with your upbringings." He said to Ron and Harry, then he rounded on Draco, "And you, a Slytherin fighting with a mangy Griffindor." He sneered. "You three will start your detention tonight, with me, three weeks worth, and 100 points from Griffindor for attacking a Slytherin."  
  
Ron and Harry gasped in outrage, Ginny stood on the sidelines watching the whole affair.  
  
"What about Malfoy?" Ron demanded, "He was attacking Hermione. I mean even a Slytherin isn't evil enough to attack a dying girl."  
  
Draco looked up in surprise, and Ginny and Harry gave Ron a disapproving look.  
  
"Ron, I can't....believe you said....IT" Ginny's eyes filled with tears.  
  
Draco's face was deathly pale, "Dying?" he whispered, all heads turned towards him, "But...she...can't...." he could feel his eyes welling up again, he struggled to keep them back, 'Crying is a sign of weakness' his father had always told him but it didn't matter anymore. The tears came again against his bidding, for when it came to Hermione, she was his weakness.  
  
A/N: So there we go...second chapter...again Draco a little OOC but he is in love (ppl are diff when they're in love) and I think once you get him crying...he an't gonna stop. But next chapter Draco and Hermione confrontation in the summer...yay! So hope you liked it enough to push the little button at the bottom of the page looks hopeful . Next chapter on the way! -Sapphire 


	4. Walking

A/N: I realize this chapter was a long time coming and I apologize. I debated whether to scrap this whole story because I wasn't too happy with how it was going. I decided to post this chapter anyway. If you think I should continue, I will, if you don't then I won't. 'Tis up to you. Enjoy reading anyway and HAPPY SUMMER! :)

Chapter 3: Walking  
  
[July 3rd, Summer of 6th Year, Diagon Alley]  
  
Draco Malfoy wandered aimlessly through the shops of Diagon Alley. He was bored. It was only the second week of summer and already he had run out of things to do. Crabbe and Goyle's marks had been so miserable at the end of their sixth year that their parents had sent them to some summer magic program. Waste of time if you asked Draco, those two were unreachable.  
  
He had originally planned to meet with his Blaise, but the jerk was too busy with his new girlfriend, another waste of time if you asked Draco.  
  
Draco was so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice the bushy brown haired girl till they had run head long into each other and lay sprawled on the ground.  
  
The girl mumbled a sorry and quickly picked herself up. 

Draco scowled, his new robes, "Well you should be. These were extremely expensive robes." He brushed himself off and stood with his head held high.  
  
The girl raised her head and Draco was surprised to find himself looking into the watery eyes of his favorite Mudblood.  
  
"Screw-off Malfoy," she growled and continued on without a backward glance. Draco's fists clenched, "What's wrong Mudblood, Potty and Weasel stand you up?" he shouted after her.  
  
She didn't turn or make any sign that she had heard him.  
  
This infuriated Draco further. NO one ignored Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy fortune, son of the all powerful Lucius Malfoy, God of the Quidditch Pitch and heart throb of...he was getting carried away again. Draco shook his head and followed Granger; he couldn't resist the urge to bug the crying muggle born witch.  
  
"Hey Granger, I wasn't finished with you yet." He yelled and followed for steady stride.  
  
Hermione ignored him and kept her head down.  
  
"Mudblood I'm talking to you." He grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face him.  
  
Her eyes were steely, "You know what Malfoy, bugger off. I've got much more important things to do then 'talk' to you. Go back to the slimy hole you crawled out of and stay there."  
  
Draco let go in surprise, Granger hardly ever responded so forcefully, she usually just ignored him or in some cases slap him.  
  
Hermione turned on her heel and headed towards the small park behind the shops. Draco would not let some goodie-two-shoes Gryffindor have the last word, plus he had to admit this was the most amusement he'd had all day.  
  
He followed Granger through the streets and into the park.  
  
"Granger...granger...GRANGER," he called after her, trying to provoke more of a reaction.  
  
She spun around suddenly, "You know what Malferret, this is actually depressing. You have nothing better to do with your sorry little life than bother me. You're pathetic. There are people dying who don't have a chance to live, unlike you, who have all the time in the world. And here you are wasting my time and yours." She flopped onto one of the benches and buried her head in her hands.  
  
Draco stood dumbly and responded slowly after several minutes, "Well Granger, maybe I am doing something with my life. I think bugging a muggleborn like you is a worthy endeavor." He smirked as she raised her tear stained face to glare at him. Draco gracefully sat upon the bench, for no reason other than his feet hurting, or so he convinced himself.  
  
A/N: So there it is, next chapter, if there is one, will be back in the hospital wing...fun times eh? Anyway if you want please do review, I greatly appreciate them and would love more. Hope you liked it! –Sapphire


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